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Illinois Smith posted:I got strong Discworld vibes whenever they showed up. Maybe I should finally read literally any Discworld novel.
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Dec 14, 2015 16:02
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Captain Monkey posted:Maybe I should finally read literally any Discworld novel. Yeah, I've never read any either and I was the one who restarted the Tehol & Bugg conversation. There's like a million of them though, so where should I begin? With the first one published?
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Dec 14, 2015 16:35
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I’d generally recommend reading Discworld in chronological order, but the first few aren’t great and aren’t really representative of the series as a whole, so I wouldn’t want to put people off. Small Gods is standalone, comes when the series is really starting to come into its own, and is a personal favourite of a lot of people – read that first and see what you think.
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Dec 14, 2015 16:41
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Published order is fine but the first two are gag books, basically. The fourth one - Mort - is when he got the hang of plot.
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Dec 14, 2015 16:42
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Yeah, Small Gods seems like as good a starting point as any. None of his usual chacaters are present (apart from a brief History Monks appearance) and it's a great example of Pratchett sinking his teeth into a specific thing in our world (religious institutions, in this case) and filtering it through his mind / fantasy setting. Also I haven't read any of the first 30 or so in years but I remember it being among my favorites. If you don't want a standalone book you can also go here, read a bit about the different main story threads (bumbling wizards, Death as a likeable protagonist, witches, Vimes / The City Watch...), pick one that sounds good to you and start at the beginning of it. Illinois Smith fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Dec 14, 2015 |
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Dec 14, 2015 17:00
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Will I ever need to read the first few books, or can I safely skip them without being super confused?
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Dec 14, 2015 19:26
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Discworld, the first two are totally skippable, the third one is skippable unless you really care about Granny Weatherwax (you should because she's the best character).
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Dec 14, 2015 19:29
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Illinois Smith posted:loving gently caress I had actually forgotten about Pratchett's death, I just did a "hey, has he published anything new lately?" search and now I'm bummed out all over again. Pratchett's death, expected as it was, on a personal level, one of the saddest events this year. Reading the last book was pretty heartbreaking, since I realized that an author you have followed for 25 years is now gone and will produce no more books. As for the Discworld books, I would say Pratchett is kinda like Erikson ie you don't need to know all the backstories and it is perfectly fine to pick up any book. They are better if you have the backstory, but strictly speaking it is not necessary.
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Dec 14, 2015 21:49
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Cardiac posted:As for the Discworld books, I would say Pratchett is kinda like Erikson ie you don't need to know all the backstories and it is perfectly fine to pick up any book. That is so absolutely not how Malazan works, though. You can put Gardens of the Moon off until after Deadhouse Gates if you want. You can flip MoI and DG around. But you can't just go "Oh I want to start at Bonehunters" anilEhilated posted:Discworld, the first two are totally skippable, the third one is skippable unless you really care about Granny Weatherwax (you should because she's the best character). You spelled Vimes' name wrong there, fyi. Also I say to start at either Guards! Guards! or Men at Arms. Guards is the first Watch book and a great starting point, and I feel like Men at Arms is the first 'modern' Discworld book where the story really locks in on Ankh-Morpork. Some of the preceding books are really good, but I think that they're still not as good of an entry point as Men at Arms.
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Dec 14, 2015 22:04
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Reiterating Small Gods as the best entry into the series for being mostly self-contained, relatively early in the series, and having a coherent and even insightful real plot that doesn't rely on humor, but just uses it. But the Nightwatch books are probably my favorite series-within-a-series because, as mentioned, Vimes is just the best, and in particular his interactions with Vetinari are incredible.
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Dec 14, 2015 22:31
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Cardiac posted:Reading the last book was pretty heartbreaking, since I realized that an author you have followed for 25 years is now gone and will produce no more books. Then I got to the funeral chapter and realized that it's more or less Pratchett writing his own eulogy and ... ugh. So dusty in here. Cardiac posted:I would say Pratchett is kinda like Erikson ie you don't need to know all the backstories and it is perfectly fine to pick up any book.
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Dec 14, 2015 22:44
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Cardiac posted:In some ways the Malazan series feels like an amalgam between Cooks Black Company and Moorcocks Elric of Melnibone series. Erickson has cited Cook as an influence, so it's understandable. For those ITT who have not tried Glen Cook, do yourself a favor and do so. Some people struggle with the middle books and changes in POV, but he's a wonderful writer who demonstrates good editing. He says so much with so few words, and is one of the best writers I've read at showing rather than telling the reader something.
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Dec 15, 2015 07:56
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Ynglaur posted:Erickson has cited Cook as an influence, so it's understandable. For those ITT who have not tried Glen Cook, do yourself a favor and do so. Some people struggle with the middle books and changes in POV, but he's a wonderful writer who demonstrates good editing. He says so much with so few words, and is one of the best writers I've read at showing rather than telling the reader something. And if one reads Dread Empire, you realize Kruppe is based pretty much on Mocker.
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Dec 15, 2015 09:09
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I made it about 20 pages into the first novel before I had to put it down due to the writing style. Does it get better/easier as you go through it?
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Dec 15, 2015 11:56
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acumen posted:I made it about 20 pages into the first novel before I had to put it down due to the writing style. Does it get better/easier as you go through it? The first time I tried to read it, I got about 20 pages in. The second, I got about 50. Now I'm about 300 pages in, and I'm really enjoying myself. I'm finding it easier going now that I've mostly figured out who is who and have some kind of idea of what they're doing.
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Dec 15, 2015 12:13
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Cardiac posted:And if one reads Dread Empire, you realize Kruppe is based pretty much on Mocker. I had been mentally trying to place Kruppe for over a year now, and forgot all about Mocker. Thanks! At the risk of E/N, they are both two of my less-favorite characters in both authors' dramatis personae. I guess I just don't like that character type.
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Dec 15, 2015 17:25
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acumen posted:I made it about 20 pages into the first novel before I had to put it down due to the writing style. Does it get better/easier as you go through it? I just talked up the series to a class mate of mine and gave him the first book. It's made me all longing for a reread. I think I'mma see how far I can get over winter break.
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Dec 15, 2015 22:49
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In the hundred or so pages I've read since I last posted, the book has turned from "yeah, this is pretty good" to "the only thing that's going to stop me reading today is the fact that I'm going to see Star Wars in 12 hours and also maybe I should eat something?" Bridgeburners own.
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Dec 15, 2015 23:14
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Ynglaur posted:For those ITT who have not tried Glen Cook, do yourself a favor and do so. His first three Black Company books are some of the most influential in the genre. Once you read them you'll see the the Black Company everywhere.
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Dec 15, 2015 23:54
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Just started Bonehunters. I like Grayfrog, and how demons are characterized in the Malazan books in general. Still monstrous looking but not at all like your stereotypical fantasy demons. I like how Grayfrog has a crush on one of the women traveling with him and Cutter but realizes she has a thing for Cutter instead and lets him know about it, then tells him he should go knock her up before a rival male does. And of course Grayfrog tells Cutter that he will help defend his claim. What a bro. Erikson is definitely a breast man, pretty much every major female character is mentioned to have large breasts at some point. And speaking of Grayfrog, he is too: "Greyfrog is already Sentinel Circler to soft-curved, large breasted goddess-human." Mustang fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Dec 16, 2015 |
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Dec 16, 2015 04:01
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If you read carefully you'll find Erikson is actually a chubby-chaser. Lots of sexy BBWs from Tattersail in Gardens all the way to the end.
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Dec 16, 2015 06:20
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If you read less carefully you'll find he's actually into dragon-kin.
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Dec 16, 2015 06:30
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The Ninth Layer posted:If you read carefully you'll find Erikson is actually a chubby-chaser. Lots of sexy BBWs from Tattersail in Gardens all the way to the end.
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Dec 16, 2015 10:17
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It is a nice change of pace, though, from the usual fantasy love interests who are more or less 'perfect'.
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Dec 16, 2015 18:51
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Uh, anyone knows what his wife looks like?
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Dec 16, 2015 18:54
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The Ninth Layer posted:If you read carefully you'll find Erikson is actually a chubby-chaser. Lots of sexy BBWs from Tattersail in Gardens all the way to the end. With the way he handles other things, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he did that deliberately to break away from convention.
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Dec 16, 2015 19:09
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It's been a while since I read the relevant books, but the whole mystery character reveal in Assail would have been easier to handle if there had been a single hint that Spinnock had died, as far as I know he's still alive after TCGanilEhilated posted:Uh, anyone knows what his wife looks like? Kinda slim, actually.
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Dec 16, 2015 20:00
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Illuyankas posted:It's been a while since I read the relevant books, but the whole mystery character reveal in Assail would have been easier to handle if there had been a single hint that Spinnock had died, as far as I know he's still alive after TCG
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Dec 16, 2015 20:04
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Well, I finished Gardens of the Moon, and am now immediately going to start Deadhouse Gates. It may have taken me four years to get through the first hundred pages, but now I'm definitely hooked.
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Dec 17, 2015 12:14
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Starting my re-read. On DG though, since m'lady is currently reading Gardens, and honestly I don't feel like Gardens is actually that important for a re-read. Kinda stoked for the chain of dogs, let's do this 
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Dec 17, 2015 13:25
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There's some real quality foreshadowing in GotM, though.
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Dec 17, 2015 14:22
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anilEhilated posted:There's some real quality foreshadowing in GotM, though. True, but it hasn't been so long that I've forgotten it.
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Dec 17, 2015 22:52
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Khizan posted:With the way he handles other things, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he did that deliberately to break away from convention. ...yep. And I would NEVER read too much in a book trying to guess about the author. It's kind of silly.
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Dec 17, 2015 23:26
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The next K&B novella is titled "The Fiends of Nightmaria"
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Dec 18, 2015 21:13
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Y'know, if I wasn't so certain they definitely offed Lord Fangtooth Claw the Render in the last one, I'd wager he'd be back in a story titled like that.
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Dec 18, 2015 21:55
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I'm going to keep this question very general so it doesn't require spoiler tags, although I feel like the answers certainly will: Does anyone have any solid estimate on how much time passes between The Bonehunters and The Crippled God? In the early books Erikson dated things, but that falls by the wayside after Midnight Tides. My fiancee asked me just out of curiosity this morning just how long of a period of time the series covers, and of course I showed her the timeline pic in the OP (she got a laugh out of that) but it was then that I realized I don't even have a great handle on the second half of it and I've read the whole loving thing. e: ok so one spoiler (The whole drat series really)We do know it was 3 years and change between when Cotillion possessed Sorry (1161) and the last siege of Y'Ghatan (1164). After that though, time seems to blur and damned if I can find actual dates anywhere. The Bonehunters go to Aren, then board ships, then go to Malaz, then go the long way to Lether, then march half a loving continent so I can't imagine it being any less than a few years. I mean, they also sat on their asses in Lether for long enough that the Malazans were bitching about becoming lazy and complacent. Fenrir fucked around with this message at 16:57 on Dec 19, 2015 |
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Dec 19, 2015 16:44
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I finished Gardens, and have started Deadhouse Gates. Holy gently caress, Fiddler just straight up exploded a Soletaken. Bridgeburners own.
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Dec 20, 2015 03:22
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cptn_dr posted:Holy gently caress, Fiddler. Sums up a whole lot of these books.
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Dec 20, 2015 20:05
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mischief posted:Sums up a whole lot of these books. The whole thing with Malazan sappers is that they're insane. These are men who were given weapons designed to be dropped on enemies from a great height and immediately started coming up with ways to use them in close combat.
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Dec 21, 2015 16:04
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Jedit posted:The whole thing with Malazan sappers is that they're insane. These are men who were given weapons designed to be dropped on enemies from a great height and immediately started coming up with ways to use them in close combat. The Drum is my favorite extension of this. No sane person would want or even think to do the process that goes into making that.
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Dec 21, 2015 20:56
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